His Story
by emikomimi
Summary: Taichi tells his side of the story.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This chapter is in reference to the first episode of the anime.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>

I see a girl lying on the grass with her headphones on. There's no mistaking, who else would do something so unrefined for a girl? It's her, Chihaya. It seems that she hasn't changed. She is just as careless as when we were kids.

I walk towards her but she doesn't seem to notice. Her eyes remain close even as I look down at her. I take a few seconds to carefully look at her face. She looks perfect just as she is, without any makeup on. It does not amaze me how so many guys find her attractive. But I liked her even before she was this beauty. It's that cheerful girl with a cropped hair that I have fallen in love with.

"Look at you plopped on the ground like that. No wonder they call you a beauty in vain." That's what they call her, 'beauty in vain'.

She opens her eyes and squints at me.

"Chihaya," I say her name with a smile.

She jumps up and calls my name. "Taichi?!"

* * *

><p>"I was so surprised. I never thought you'd come to this high school too. I figured you'd continue at that fancy academy into high school." She starts tapping my back rather hard as we walk along the street to the train station.<p>

This girl. She hasn't changed one bit. She's still as rough. "And spend three more years commuting an hour and a half each way?" I say. Traveling was not the real issue but I can't seem to muster any courage to tell her the truth.

"By the way, that was mean." I add. I have been in love with her since we were in Elementary school but she remains oblivious until this day. I thought that I'd be able to get over Chihaya during middle school but it seems that my feelings for her have only grown stronger.

"Anyway, I'm surprised you made it into such a good public school." I say.

I turn to look at her and I see her staring at me. Just staring. I feel my heart beating faster. She's piercing deep to my soul. I turn my head to avoid her gaze. With that kind of stare, I fear that she might actually be able to read my mind.

"Taichi, you've grown taller," she says.

And of all topics why does it have to be about my height?!

"We're still practically the same height! Don't get too cocky!" I retort.

She had been teasing me about my height since we were kids. It should have gotten old by now but she's still using the height card against me. She had always been a bit taller than me. It's always just by a few centimeters, I swear! Why does it have to matter anyway?!

"I'm still gonna grow!"

"So am I." She snaps.

"You're going down!" I snap back at her as I put my thumbs down in front of her face.

"Taichi," she calls my name.

"What?"

"Taichi!" She bumps me with her shoulders and leans on my side. "Taichi! Taichi! Taichi!" She starts chanting my name and bumps me again.

This is starting to irritate me. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just glad that you're here," she says.

How can she say such mindless things and make me extremely happy? How should I even reply to that?

"Chihaya, you aren't very popular with the guys, are you?"

I'm lame. I know.

* * *

><p>I'm sitting on a seat at the train station. Chihaya is standing near me as we wait for the train to arrive. I watch her as the wind softly blows her hair. The moment seems right. I have to tell her. "Chihaya…"<p>

I hear my cellphone ringing in my pocket. Damn it. Who could it be at this moment?! My heart sinks as I see Akane's name flash on the screen. Akane, a girl that reminds me of a reason why I can't tell her, for now. "One second."

I click on the answer button. "It's me, what is it?"

_"Ta-kun, Let's meet."_ Akane's chirpy voice chimes through my ears.

"Right now? I'm at the station." Akane and I have been dating for 2 months but it's nothing serious. I'm pretty sure she's just playing around.

_"I'll wait for you here at Bubaigawara Station,"_ she says insistingly.

"Huh? You're waiting at Bubaigawara?" I ask.

_"Please Ta-kun," _she pleads._  
><em>

"Fine. Fine. I'm hanging up. " Girls are a handful, really.

"Your girlfriend?!" Chihaya runs towards me.

"Taichi, you have a girlfriend?!" She asks with her face just inches from me.

I can feel my face starting to heat up. I retreat to a safer distance.

"Am I not allowed to have one?" I ask her defensively.

"I see." She withdraws from her position and sits beside me. "I see."

Is she probably… jealous? "W-what's wrong? Was it that big of a shock."

She nods her head. Her face shifts from disbelief to gloom.

I suddenly feel guilty. "W-well, I'm only with her because she asked me out. I'm not really attached to her or anything…"

"Maybe Arata's found something more important to him than karuta, too," she says, more to herself than me.

I feel my heart drop. It's about Arata after all. I'm the one who's here and yet it's still that guy she thinks about. Ever since she have met Arata, it has always been about him. Arata this, Arata that. I should be used to it by now but still, it hurts every time.

I hear the sound of the train approaching. "What's that supposed to mean?" I stand from my seat and walk towards the yellow line.

"Taichi?" I hear her say my name again, but this time, I do not feel anything.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter is in reference to the fourth and fifth episode.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 2<strong>

"She beat him!" I realize Chihaya did improve a lot. Seeing her play today only proves to me how determined she is in becoming a strong karuta player.

Chihaya sees me from the window and starts running towards me. She slides the window open and I suddenly feel her head against my chest and her arms around me. I can smell the scent of her hair and her heat radiating to my body.

"Let's play. Let's play karuta, Taichi. Let's play!" She exclaims as she grips me tighter. "We can improve together! If we have each other we can become strong." I feel her arms slowly loosening from my body. She looks straight at me with a face full of determination. How could I say no?

"Ok. Stay right there, Taichi." Chihaya says as she climbs out of the window while holding on to my shoulders for support. She gets a pink cellphone from her pocket.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's okay for me to call Arata now, right?" She starts pressing the keys on her phone and places it against her ears.

I feel the bliss from her embrace leaving my body. I'm here with her and yet all she can think about is Arata. How could she not even consider what I'm feeling right now? Ever since that Fukui boy came… Ever since that day… It had always been about him. Why does it have to be like this? I'm losing a battle to a person who's not even here.

"Arata?! It's me Chihaya! Ayase Chihaya! Taichi's also here. I made Class A today! I worked so hard!" I hear her say on her cellphone. "Taichi and I are at the same high school! He got himself a girlfriend who calls him Ta-kun. Can you believe it? Oh, Harada-sensei is doing great!" She pauses for a second and adds, "Hey Arata. How strong are you now?"

I see her face change from an expression of excitement to shock.

"What did Arata say?" I ask.

She puts down her cellphone and stares at it blankly.

"Hey, Chihaya?" What could Arata have said to her?

She looks up at me. "Taichi, Let's go to Fukui."

"What's the matter?" I ask.

"Something is wrong with Arata. He said he stopped playing karuta," she says.

"Don't take it so seriously. Maybe Arata have just found something else that he wants to do. That's what happens when people grow up. Things change, Chihaya." I look at her and see tears streaming down her face. I release a sigh of defeat. "Fine. We'll go to Fukui."

* * *

><p>"Hurry up!" Chihaya exclaims as we run down the stairs of Tokyo Station to catch the departing train to Maibara.<p>

We made it just in the nick of time. Chihaya and I have agreed to meet at six in the morning but she was fifteen minutes late. I even woke up early just to make it on time. She wanted to make this trip so bad and yet she gets herself late.

I try to catch my breath as the door closes behind me. "You're the one who was late!"

"It's not my fault. I couldn't fall asleep last night," she says.

"You're like a kid on the night before a field trip," I say. "You owe me juice."

"Eh?" She asks in disbelief.

"That's what you get from being late." I walk to an empty seat beside the window. Chihaya sits on the opposite side near the isle. I see a woman with a food trolley approaching. "Buy me my juice!"

"Fine. No need to be so pushy." Chihaya smiles at the trolley lady as she stops on our side of the alley.

"This." She points at a can of juice on the trolley. "Can I get this and the also the manju?"

Manju? Arata have always liked manju. He said that age-manju in Tokyo tastes supreme. He's probably wrong but I can't say for sure. I did buy him a box at the station though.

"I already bought a gift for him." I tell Chihaya.

She throws a can to my direction and I instinctively catch it with one hand.

"These are for me," She says.

I inspect the can in my hand. It's my favorite juice. She still remembers. Somehow I'm starting to feel a little happy about this trip. If only if this was not for another person and that she had to borrow money from her sister just to make it.

"I don't think it was worth borrowing money from your sister to make this trip," I say.

She doesn't answer me and maintains a straight face. "Are you really that worried?"

She lightly nods her head.

I have to admit that I feel a bit jealous of Arata. I always have been. Ever since he came into picture, Chihaya had always been taking his side. I can say that it hasn't changed until this day. It makes me think that she likes him. I hope that I'm wrong though. Just the thought of it kills me on the inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

I slouch on my seat and opened the can of juice in my hand. Chihaya starts scuffling inside her bag. "What is it? Did you leave something?"

She shakes her head. "I'm looking for my note pad."

What would she use a notepad for? I know Chihaya and she's not the type who would leisurely write during a trip.

"Yes!" She exclaims triumphantly as she takes out a small square note pad and a mechanical pencil. She clicks the bottom of the pencil a few times and starts scribbling on the paper.

"What's that?" I ask.

"I'm writing things to talk about when we come and see Arata," she says to me without even looking up. She's just so engrossed with what she's doing now.

Why would she even need to write about topics she would want to talk about? She's one of the most spontaneous person that I know. "What the hell are those for? That's so unnatural!"

"I might get nervous when we finally see Arata. I might not remember anything to say," she says.

Since when did she get nervous? And it's Arata that we're seeing not a celebrity.

"You don't have to be so worked up," I say. "Just be yourself." I take a big gulp of juice and try to take up the scenery outside.

"Thanks, Taichi," she says.

I look back at her and she beams at me as if so pleased with I have just said. Is she?

"You're so kind," she adds and resumes writing. I feel my face heat up as I take another swing of the juice.

* * *

><p>For a few moment, I take the scene of Mt. Fuji outside window. The sky is clear and no clouds obstructed the view of the snow-capped volcano. "Hey, Chihaya! It's Mt. Fuji!" I turn to look at her.<p>

"She is beautiful." I add. The compliment is for Mt. Fuji. Okay, fine. It's actually for Chihaya. Here I am trying to make a move and yet she doesn't even seem to notice me. I kick her leg with the side of my foot to get her attention.

"Ow! What was that for, Taichi?!" She fights back with her right foot.

"Sorry. My legs are too long." I push her leg with my feet to stop it from kicking. We start pushing each other's leg like rowdy kids on a train. "We're on a trip. Why don't you take in the scenery?" I say. She stops striking me and leans back on her seat. I prop my elbow on the windowpane and rest my chin on my palm. "Arata probably just found a different hobby. That's normal. It's not a reason to go see him."

"You're heartless!" She exclaims.

"Men don't get touchy-feely with each other." I say to her like it's a fact of life. It's true though. It's been three years since I last saw Arata in person. I have to admit that I did miss him a couple of times as a child. He is a good friend but I can live without seeing him for the rest of my life. Of course I would be happy if we somehow meet but I would not travel all the way to Fukui just to meet him. Chihaya, however, seems to feel the complete opposite.

She crosses her arms in front of her.

She has always been like this, not wanting to lose even on a petty fight against me. Somehow I find it childish but it's one thing that I like about her. I like her. I like everything about her. I wonder if there's a person that she likes. "So, Chihaya…"

"Huh?" She asks inquisitively.

"Is there someone you like?" I ask like it's not a big deal.

Her face brightens up, "Harada sensei!"

"Wha?!" That old man?! But it's not like she really likes him. At least not like in the context I just asked her.

"I try to give him chocolates on Valentine's every year, but he always refuses and tells me that he's already married," she says.

Why does Harada sensei even rides along with this girl's antics? "You shouldn't be taking her seriously, Harada sensei," I say my thought out lout. "That wouldn't be considered love." I look at her with a mixture of longing and sadness.

"What would be love then?" She asks, her brown eyes fixes on mine.

"Love is when…" I say. But then I bite my tongue, realizing that it's probably not the right moment for her to know how I truly feel. I find myself looking out the window. "It isn't fun to be with that person" I say in a hushed voice.

"What?! You don't have fun when you're with your girlfriend?!" She asks in disbelief.

Akane. I have almost forgotten about her. I have to keep a mental note to meet up with her as soon as possible.

"I have fun." I say.

"She listens to me and she's sweet." I add. Akane is a good girlfriend but I'm starting to feel the need to break it up with her. She confessed to me after our graduation ceremony in middle school. I have thought that having a girlfriend would allay my feelings for Chihaya. Make me forget about her, even. I have never been so mistaken in my life.

"So you just wanted to brag?" She asks angrily.

I want to tell her that she's wrong but I just purse my lips in disappointment.

"You should have just taken her on a date instead of wasting a day off on a trip to Fukui," she says irritably.

'But I didn't! Can't you see that I willingly chose to be here with you!? How can you be so dense?!' I hear the voice inside of me yelling but the words does not make it out of my mouth. I rest my elbow on my lap and placed the palm of my hand over my mouth. This girl is ticking me off.

"You can't even buy a train ticket by yourself!" I retort.

"Oh! I forgot about that!" She exclaims.

"I can't trust you in traveling alone you idiot."

She starts mumbling things but I can hardly hear her. Love, she asked? I know what love is. I have known it since I was ten and I have been in love with the same girl ever since.


End file.
